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| | The Blue Guard ~ Orly - Iris Island | |
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Daevon Spade Admin
Posts : 26 Join date : 2014-04-28 Age : 33
| Subject: The Blue Guard ~ Orly - Iris Island Sun Jun 22, 2014 12:20 am | |
| The town of Orly can be described as the flower of Iris Island, with it’s central garden market, red-bricked main road, and bustling fish market. The red-bricked buildings seem to sparkle from the sun’s rays during the mid-day hours, making the blue lily’s stand out in the gardens in front of most of the homes. The central garden is a thing to behold. At it’s center stands a large monument in the shape of a pillar with engravings around the base of the statue. All around the monument are several different flowers of different colours, creating a sweet aroma in the center. All around the monument are different stalls selling anything from fresh baked bread, flowers, silks and fabrics, and even teas made from the flowers growing within the town. All of its citizens live a comfortable life as carpenters, florists, bakers, and mostly fishermen. The docks are always filled with fishermen, boats and even merchants selling the latest catch. Most of the money flows from the docks and into the city to make it the most beautiful town in Iris. Most striking of it all are the blue uniformed militiamen that patrol the town day and night. They all wear dyed blue leather armour in various styles and arrangements. Some wear cloaks over their shoulder, or their back, while others wear capitano hats to keep the sun from hitting their faces. They all wield various weapons from swords to muskets, and are always ready to use them on anyone who disturbs the peace of Orly. These are the Blue Guards, Orly’s personal militia. The sun beat down on Orly as three Blue Guards were walking out of the Blue Guard barracks and headed into town. The barracks was built on top of a small hill just a few minutes west of town. It was built there to ensure that anyone coming from the west side of the island wouldn’t try to invade Orly without attacking the barracks first. “Seems were investigating a shoplifting in central first,” said the shortest blue guard of the three. He wore square glasses upon his nose and only wore his typical uniform, no additional armour, cloak, or hat. “After that we have our break, then…” he let out a sigh, “we got the night shift.” “What?!” Burst the red haired guard out loud. The red haired blue guard wore the typical uniform, but had a cloak covering the right side of his body, and a sword strapped to his left. He wore his hair in a ponytail that reached to the bottom of his neck. “I hate the night shift. Nothing happens at night.” “But those are the bosses orders,” replied the third blue guard. This blue guard was the tallest, but definitely the skinniest of the three. He wore the entire getup, with a cloak over his left side and a capitano hat upon his head. “At least we might get to rough someone up first, I’ve been itching for a fight lately,” the red haired guard said, placing his hand on top of the hilt of his sword. “I think the last thing we need is you in another fight, Egan,” the short blue guard responded, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Plus, we don’t know the details behind the shoplifting yet.” “Carlos is right,” the tall blue guard gasped. “What if it’s one crime of a much larger conspiracy?” “Here we go,” sighed Carlos. “Look what you did now,” Egan said glaring over at Carlos. “Thieves have probably smuggled their way into our town and are stealing everything we have before we even know it,” the tall guard explained waving his hands in front of him, almost like he was drawing a picture in the air. “Soon all the bread will be taken, then the fish, and eventually the fisherman’s boats. Then finally…” Before the tall guard could continue, Egan bopped him over the head halting his train of thought. “Nothing like that would ever happen Michel.” Carlos explained in a know-it-all voice. “Plus even if that could happen, we would catch wind of it and stop it from going out of hand.” “I guess,” Michel replied, rubbing the back of his head unsure of Carlos’ answer. “Now let’s go, we have some skulls to crack,” Egan said cracking his knuckles.
Egan, Carlos, and Michel all arrived in Central Garden at the center of town where the market was just starting to get busy with tourists and regulars shopping among the stalls. The three guards headed straight for a stall with the name ‘Fresh Bread’ written in white along the top of the stall. Behind the stall was an elderly woman with a flowered apron on with flour stains all over it. Her smile was soothing and gentle as she saw the boys heading toward her. “Hello boys,” the elderly woman said as the three guards approached the stall. “Same as usual Carlos?” “Not now Miss Riley,” Carlos said with a bright smile. Out of the three of them, Carlos was always the negotiator because of his calm voice and that bright smile of his. “We’ve received a report that you were stolen from a while back. We’re following up on it. What can you tell us?” “Ah yes, three days ago a young man came staring at my bread for the longest time, “ Miss Riley explained. “Quiet, never said a word. It was when Lucy came by for bread when the young man snatched a loaf and took off through the crowd. I saw one of your men go after him, but it seems he lost’em.” “Useless militiaman,” Egan huffed under his breath. Carlos stabbed Egan in the rib with his elbow. “Do you remember what he looked like?” Carlos continued. “Ah yes, he wore a very old and dusty red shirt,” Miss Riley explained. “He also wore a funny looking hat that covered most of his head. Skinny looking boy too, almost as skinny as Michel.” Miss Riley held back a giggle, smiling at Michel. “Someone more skinny than Michel? Is that possible?” Carlos joked. “Come on, I eat as much as everyone else,” Michel explained, tapping his belly. “I just never get any bigger.” “You clearly don’t eat enough,” Egan pointed out, flexing his left arm. “Or else you would have arms like mine.” “Maybe if I had a heavy sword like yours, maybe then I could build more muscle,” Michel pointed out. “But then what happens when the muscle keeps building. Then I won’t be able to…” Egan backslapped Michel’s stomach before he could go off into another tangent. “So, dusty old red shirt, a weird hat, and skinny,” Carlos repeated back to Miss Riley, making mental notes. “Is that everything?” Miss Riley looked up, trying to remember anything distinctive. “No sorry, can’t remember anything else,” she said. “It was only one loaf, so please go easy on the lad.” “Don’t worry Miss Riley, I won’t let Egan get carried away again,” Carlos said, feeling Egan glaring at him. “I’ll be back for the usual. See you soon, Miss Riley.” “Goodbye boys,” Miss Riley said, waving as the boys walked toward the monument. “So does that description sound familiar to any of you?” Carlos asked once they were far enough away from Miss Riley. “Kind of sounds like Trevor Quinn,” Michel said. “I’ve noticed him sneaking around the center a couple of times lately,” Egan added. “I overhead that he was fired by his fishing company two weeks ago,” Carlos said. “Which might explain why he’s switched to thievery.” “He should know better not to steal from little old Miss Riley,” Egan said snapping his neck. “Easy now,” Carlos said. “We should confront him and maybe talk him out of it. Right Michel?” “Whatever gets the job done,” Michel said with a cheeky smile.
The three blue guards headed toward the warehouse district of the docks, which was where most of the shady people could hang out. Most of the time whenever the Blue Guards had to investigate something that was stolen, their first spot to search would be the warehouse district. Nine times out of ten they would be here. The warehouses were all built out of wood and were some of the older buildings in the town, so the atmosphere was very much different from the Garden Center. The dirt road was uneven and full of potholes; some of the siding from the warehouses were coming apart and littering the ground. Across from the warehouses were the old docks, abandoned from years of expansion and were now empty with half sunken ships and boats. Egan walked along the side of one of the warehouses with Carlos and Michel right behind him. As he reached the corner, he took a quick glance over and saw two men standing near the alleyway in-between two of the warehouses. He immediately recognized Trevor, but the other figure shocked him. “What did you see?” Michel asked, curious of Egan’s shocked expression. “I saw Trevor, but there is another person with him,” Egan explained. “It was a Blue Guard.” “Are you sure?” Carlos asked a bit skeptical. “Don’t believe me? Take a look for yourself,” Egan said pushing Carlos to the corner. Carlos took a glance and saw exactly what Egan saw. “He’s right, but that isn’t just any Blue Guard, that’s Adele Young.” “Isn’t she Chris’ daughter?” Michel asked. “The financial advisor?” Egan added. “Both,” Carlos confirmed. “What is she doing confronting Trevor? It doesn’t look like she’s busting him either.” “I say we go in, bust some heads and ask them what there up to,” Egan purposed. “No no no, NO!” Carlos said. “We’re not going in guns blazing. Think first would you.” Egan gave Carlos a glance before letting out a sigh. “I think we should corner them and then proceed to question them.” “Good idea,” Michel said, patting Carlos on the shoulder. “I’ll head around the back of the warehouse and cut off their escape,” Egan said. “Once I give the signal, we move in.” “That’s what I was going to say,” Carlos protested. “Too slow,” Egan snickered as he ran off down toward the back of the warehouse. Michel grabbed his flintlock pistol and hid it under his cloak as they waited for Egan’s signal. As they waited they saw Adele hand something wrapped in cloth to Trevor. But before Michel or Carlos could guess what it could be Egan waved his long sword in the air signaling both Carlos and Michel to walk toward Adele and Trevor. “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Egan said mockingly as he approached Trevor and Adele. “Wha-what’re you three doing here?” Adele said, turning quickly to each of the Blue Guards. She wore the regular uniform with a cloak that covered most of her body, hiding all of her weapons. “What’s going on?” Trevor squeaked, hiding behind Adele. “What’s a Blue Guard doing meddling with a bread thief?” Egan said, pointing his sword at Adele. “Don’t you know who my father is? He’ll have you locked up,” Adele protested, panic in her voice. “Not if he finds out what you’re doing here,” Carlos countered, getting Adele’s attention. “Trevor, we know it was you who stole Miss Riley’s bread. You’ll have to come with us.” Trevor was about to step away from Adele, but then she threw her arms in front of her, revealing a pistol in each hand. One pointed at Carlos, the other at Egan. “Trevor isn’t going anywhere.” “Is that a threat?” Egan said, grinning slowly. “What is she doing?” Carlos whispered to Michel. “Is she protecting Trevor? Why?” “Stop asking questions,” Michel said. “At least not when a gun is pointed at you.” Michel’s eyes were trained on Adele’s hands as they held tightly onto her pistols. Carlos slowly moved his hand around his back to where his pistol was hidden and Michel caught a glimpse of what he was doing and could see that Adele also saw that too. Under his cloak he cocked his pistol as he waited for the right moment. Then in a fury of moments, two gunshots sounded as blood dripped onto the muddy ground. | |
| | | Daevon Spade Admin
Posts : 26 Join date : 2014-04-28 Age : 33
| Subject: Re: The Blue Guard ~ Orly - Iris Island Mon Jun 23, 2014 5:55 am | |
| I’ve never been one for leadership. No. I’m more of a man of action, reacting to protect my friends and the people I care about. People have called me a militia dog, a follower, a mindless loyalist. But nothing stings more than when a pistol is trained on a friend of mine. I’ve practiced for times such as this, when the people around me are in danger and they rely on me to act. The smoke from my pistol stung as it wafted into my eyes. The scene before me was exactly as I expected. My bullet had hit Adele’s wrist, stopping her from shooting Carlos and dropping her pistol onto the muddy ground. Her second pistol had fired at Egan though, but knowing him he would be charging at Adele any moment. Egan swung his sword in front of him as he charged straight for Adele right as the shots sounded. He barreled toward Adele, ignoring the bullet that had just passed through his left shoulder, blood dying his leather uniform. Adele was too distracted by the wound I inflicted on her wrist that it was too late when she finally noticed how close Egan was. He flashed his sword toward Adele, slicing her pistol in half. As he followed with a second swing, Adele scrabbled, pushed Trevor toward the warehouse and dodged Egan’s second swing. “Run to the warehouse!” Adele shouted at Trevor, as she too bolted toward the slight opening in the large doors to the warehouse. Without thinking, Egan bolted in after her without knowing if Carlos and I were following, which we were going to anyway. “Egan, wait!” Carlos shouted, knowing full well he wouldn’t get his attention. “It could be a trap!” “Let’s go,” I said, taking out my rapier from its scabbard. Carlos sighed as he finally took out his pistol from its holster and ran into the warehouse alongside me. Right as we entered the dark, dusty building we noticed that a few lamps were lit throughout the inside of the warehouse, giving it a red glow. Immediately in front of us were many tall cargo boxes, creating a sort of maze. There were three openings leading into the maze of boxes and Egan was heading toward the center entrance without looking back. “You take the left, I’ll take the right,” Carlos said, running toward the right. I nodded and ran toward the left hoping that I would meet up with Adele first. All I knew about Adele was that she was made a Blue Guard only a couple of months ago at the request of her father, Chris the finance advisor to our boss. I knew she was good with pistols and making friends with the locals, but I didn’t know she was protecting thieves. She was younger than me, but she had a loud mouth when it came to things she didn’t agree with. The most striking thing about Adele was her brown hair, which was always long and peppered with different flowers from the garden center. Today was no exception. Finally an opening, I ran faster hoping to be the first to the end of the warehouse. To my luck, I was. Adele was just a few feet ahead of me as she ran toward the back of the warehouse with Trevor scrabbling to keep up. I pointed my pistol at Adele and cocked it, stopping her in her tracks. She knew I was a crack shot and didn’t dare test my skills again. I slowly approached her and kept my pistol trained on her as I stopped only a couple feet from her. “Why are you protecting thieves?” I asked, glaring down at Trevor who had fallen on the ground sniveling in fear. “This goes against everything the Blue Guards stand for. We stand for justice and…” “Hold your breath, dog,” Adele snapped, glancing over at me with disgust in her voice. “You know nothing of what happens in the warehouse district. None of you do!” “Of course we do,” Carlos chimed, coming out of the box maze with his pistol trained on Adele. “It’s full of thieves and beggars that wish to steal, kill and cheat there way out of poverty, rather than finding decent work.” “You’re suppose to be the smart one,” Adele snapped, glancing at Carlos. “Guess they were just rumours. What I’m doing is what we all should be doing, not patrolling the streets of the comfortable. We should be helping the poor!” Adele’s green eyes seemed to shimmer from her determination. “A thief is still a thief,” I countered. “Adele, you will have to come with us for conspiring with a thief.” “And Trevor, you are to come with us for your thievery,” Carlos added. “That isn’t going to happen,” Adele said, glaring daggers at me. Suddenly the shadows moved as something came flashing out toward Carlos. From the shadows came a large plank of wood that smacked Carlos’ wrist, making him lose his grip on his pistol. He jumped backward and avoided the second swing from the plank of wood. From the corner of my eye, sliver shimmers of light came shooting toward me as I held up my rapier to block. Suddenly two blades sparked and slid across the blade of my rapier, one was a clever, the other a long carving knife. The man wielding the plank of wood materialized from the shadows, which was a big tall man who carried the plank of wood with ease. He wore rugged clothes just like Trevor and had greasy black hair that stuck to his face. The man wielding the kitchen knives was a shorter man who looked like he hadn’t eaten in days. His cheeks were shallow and his eyes had only a little spark in them. Then that familiar clicking. To my right was Trevor holding a pistol at my face. Falling from his hands was the wrapping that concealed the weapon, the same cloth that Adele handed to Trevor earlier. But something was off about Trevor’s expression; it wasn’t that of a warrior. “How the hell…” Egan’s voice boomed. Atop of the boxes stood our trusted red haired companion. “How did you two beat me to the end?” Egan shouted, then looked at the scene before him. “Arming the poor. Adele, what do you intend to do with a bunch of beggars?” Carlos chuckled at Egan’s conclusion as he took out his parrying dagger from the back of his belt. “That’s the fastest you’ve ever examined a situation.” “I am not arming the poor!” Adele retorted. “I am giving them protection.” “Is that what there doing? Protecting themselves by killing two Blue Guards. Sounds like murder to me,” Egan said sarcastically as he jumped down from the boxes with his sword in hand. “S-S-S-Stay back, “ Trevor stuttered watching Egan approach him slowly. “You’re forcing them to follow you,” I said pushing back the thin man’s knives to glare at Adele. “No loyal man would weep for something he believes in. That-“ I pointed to Trevor “is not the face of a man who believes in your leadership.” Indeed, tears of fear and anxiety were streaming down Trevor’s dirt ridden face as the pistol in his hands was shaking. “Drop the gun Trevor,” Carlos said soothingly. “You don’t want the blood of another on your hands. Don’t follow Adele if you don’t believe in her ideals.” “But… how else am I going to live?” Trevor pleaded, slowly dropping the pistol. “I can’t even feed myself.” “And you think killing Michel will solve that problem?” Carlos questioned. “I-“ “Shut up! Kill them!” Adele ordered cutting Trevor off. Suddenly Egan dashed forward smacking Trevor square in the face with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out before he could fire the pistol. The large man loomed down at Carlos, chuckling at his size. “Seems I picked the right opponent,” the large man said in a gruff voice. Egan snickered and watched eagerly at Carlos. The large man swung his plank of wood sideways at Carlos, hitting nothing but air. Carlos had leaped into the air; just above the plank of wood and gracefully landed on it and spun kicked the large man in the face, sending the man to the ground. Carlos landed on the ground, and picked up his pistol and pointed it at the large man. “Don’t get up,” Carlos said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Your life is more precise than winning a meaningless fight.” “Nobody expects the smart guy,” Egan chuckled at the large man’s expression of Carlos’ movements. Surprisingly, the large man did not get up. He winced and stared over at Adele. Now it was my turn, the thin man charged at me wildly. Immediately I knew this was going to be quick. He swung with both knives at once, and in a quick flash I holstered my pistol and took out my parrying dagger and held back his two knives. Then I smacked the thin man in the face with the hilt of my rapier, much like Egan, causing him to recoil and lose his grip with his knives. The hit wasn’t as hard as Egan’s, so I followed up by pointing the end of my blade at thin man’s throat. “Same goes for you,” I said, seeing the fear in the thin man’s eyes at my assault. “You guys are too soft,” chuckled Egan, as he approached Adele. “Now what to do with the ringleader.” “You are ignorant of their struggles!” Adele pleaded, backing up slowly away from Egan. “I am helping them. You just pass by and see nothing but laziness. You ignore their suffering!” “You’ve forgotten the bigger picture Adele,” Carlos explained. “How do we know they aren’t infiltrators from the bandits in Loriberg, or pirates wanting to attack us from the inside out. How do we know they aren’t spies?” “Have you forgotten what happened with the Black Shape pirates a year ago?” Egan added. “One poor beggar was able to infiltrate an entire crew into the city with us only noticing at the last minute. Or have you forgotten.” “I…” Adele held her tongue, knowing she had been beat. “I didn’t know.” “It did happen before you entered the Blue Guards,” Carlos pointed out. “Thanks four-eyes,” Egan sighed. “Come with us Adele, before more people have to get hurt,” Carlos pleaded. Adele shuddered and finally fell to her knees. “Take me to my father,” Adele said, glaring up at Egan. “Let’s escort these four back to the barracks,” Carlos said. “Egan, you carry Trevor since you're the one who knocked him out.” “Fine,” Egan sighed sheathing his sword and lifting Trevor over his good shoulder. Our morning assignment was a success. We landed upon an even bigger conspiracy than we imagined, but Carlos still had questions about how big this charity was and how many people Adele could have smuggled into the city. Carlos’ worst fear was what if Adele had smuggled in Loriberg refugees? If so, what if those refugees were bandits in disguise? The boss needed to know. | |
| | | Daevon Spade Admin
Posts : 26 Join date : 2014-04-28 Age : 33
| Subject: Re: The Blue Guard ~ Orly - Iris Island Tue Jun 24, 2014 9:02 pm | |
| The three Blue Guards had handed over Adele, Trevor and the other homeless fighters over to the Blue Guard barracks. The boss of the Blue Guards was pleased with Michel’s group’s work. Adele was to be demoted to a simple desk job where she could be monitored and kept under surveillance, and she was restricted from wielding any sort of weapon. Chris, Adele’s father, seemed mildly upset with Adele and agreed to all of the punishments she received. Afterward the boss explained his worry of how many refugees were let into the town through Adele, and how many of those could be bandits or pirates in disguise. He told the group that a number of Blue Guards would be sent in the morning to gather up all the homeless in the warehouse district. From there, they would be sorted by their origin. Orly citizens would be sent to a charity house where they would be sheltered for a time until a job was arranged to them. The immigrants would be sent to the barracks and locked up, where they would be questioned to see if they could be trusted or not. The boss isn’t a man to trust outsiders, especially after last year’s tragedy with the Black Spade pirates. In fact, the whole immigrant restriction policy was created seven years ago when pirates came into the town. They acted friendly until they turned on the city and almost razed it to the ground. From then on, the Blue Guard increased its size and made strict policies on immigrants entering the town. Since then, the town has done nothing but prospered.
Michel, Egan, and Carlos were walking toward Orly from the barracks. Their job was finished which meant it was time for a break. “I knew the boss wouldn’t take this lightly,” Carlos said, breaking the silence. “He always knows best,” Michel agreed. “Well…” Carlos said skeptically. “Some of his decisions are good, but some of his other-“ Carlos noticed Michel glaring over at him. “Never mind.” Egan chuckled. “Grow a backbone Carlos, or else you’ll always be pushed around.” “It’s not that,” Carlos retorted. “I just don’t want to offend Michel is all.” “How would be offending me?” Michel asked. “By questioning the boss’ orders,” Carlos explained. “I know how you look up to him.” “Yeah, total man crush,” Egan added. “Wha- No I don’t,” Michel protested, tipping his hat. “I just respect him for giving me a purpose.” “Then why haven’t you ever disagreed with anything he’s ever done?” Egan questioned, poking Michel in the ribs. “Be-because he makes good decisions,” Michel argued. “Why question something that is good.” “Blind as a bat,” Carlos said. “Love is blind,” Egan chuckled. Michel shoved Egan, which only made him laugh harder. “Ow,” Egan said softly, looking at his wounded shoulder. “I really should get this looked after.” As they were talking, the town was just a few minutes away. “Yeah, before you forget again,” Carlos said. “Remember last time?” “It was a busy day,” Egan protested. “It wasn’t until the next morning when I woke up in blood stained sheets did I remember I was stabbed.” Both Carlos and Michel chuckled. “Shut up,” Egan said, pouting as he crossed his arms. “Don’t make me remind you both about how many times I’ve saved your tails.” “Right, saved,” Michel joked. “Is that what taking a bullet to the shoulder is called?” “Stop talking!” Egan yelled, shoving Michel’s shoulder. “Well, I’m headed to the centre,” Carlos said, changing subjects. “Got to get my bread from Miss Riley.” Carlos beamed at the thought of fresh bread. “Where you headed Michel?” Egan asked, looking up at the tall militiaman. “Probably head to the diner, like always,” Michel explained. “Typical,” Egan huffed. “Your so boring sometimes Michel.” “So what if he doesn’t get shot in the shoulder from time to time, don’t call him boring because of that,” Carlos joked, glaring over at Egan. “I will smash those glasses,” Egan threatened, walking closer to Carlos. “Easy, it was a joke,” Carlos said with his big smile. “I guess we part ways until the night shift.” “Don’t remind me,” Egan sighed. “See you guys tonight,” Michel said, walking toward the north part of town. Egan and Carlos went their different ways too. Egan went straight for the clinic, while Carlos went toward the centre.
Just north of the Garden Center was where all the shops and restaurants were. Though not in the Garden Center, the shopping district was just as beautiful. Each owner took time and effort to plant many coloured flowers in front of their shops, and the town even went ahead and built a redbrick road through the shopping district, much like the road leading to the Garden Center. Michel bee lined his way to a little diner called “Morning Glory”. The outside of the little diner was decorated with bright lilies, tulips, and roses around its’ big window. As Michel entered the little diner, the natural light lit up the enter room. Flowerpots hung from the ceiling with even more flowers that gave the diner a sweet and welcoming smell. To his left, Michel saw two other Blue Guards having lunch in one of the small booths. Michel headed to the center of the diner, took a seat, and waited for his favourite waitress. “Michel!” Chimed a young voice from behind. “Same as usual?” A young woman around Michel’s age came around into view. She had long brown hair with a lily clipped in her hair; she had a bright smile just like Carlos and big hazelnut eyes. She wore a spotless apron and carried a white pad of paper around. “Hello Lucy,” Michel said. “Yes that would lovely, thank you.” “Coming right up,” Lucy said, walking off toward the back of the diner. After a few minutes, Lucy returned after giving the order to the chef. She placed a tall glass of chilled water in front of Michel. “Thank you,” Michel said, taking off his hat and placing it on the empty seat beside him. “I can see why you always wear a hat,” Lucy giggled, tugging on Michel’s hair that was sticking straight up. “Stop,” Michel protested, playfully pushing Lucy’s hands away. “I like my hair the way it is.” “So how was the morning shift?” Lucy asked. “Pretty average, Egan got shot again, we stopped a bread thief,” Michel said, leaving some details out. “Hopefully he remembered he got shot in the first place,” an older gruff voice said. “Sasha!” Lucy said, hugging the new woman who entered the diner. The woman was mid-aged but had a strong body. She had really short blond hair and wore the entire Blue Guard get up, with hardened leather armour all along her arms. She usually wore a capitano hat, but she was carrying it under her arm. “How are you my dear,” Sasha said patting Lucy’s head. Lucy pulled away and nodded with a smile. “I’m doing great, Auntie.” “Loyal Michel,” Sasha said, taking a seat across from Michel. “Heard what you guys did with Adele. Good job.” “Thank you, instructor,” Michel said. Sasha is the Fencing instructor for all of the Blue Guards and is by far the best swordswoman on the island, or at least in Orly. “Drop the title, we’re off-duty,” Sasha hissed, looking over at Lucy. “Lucy dear, could you get me a glass of water? The day isn’t getting any cooler.” “Sure thing,” Lucy chimed, walking off toward the back. “So where did Egan get shot this time?” Sasha asked, leaning on her chair. “In the shoulder,” Michel replied. “Again, acted like it didn’t hurt.” “He’s a softy underneath,” Sasha said. “I should know, I’ve broken him a couple times before.” “Ah,” Michel said, nervously. Michel knew all to well how harsh Sasha’s training methods were. She loved to break down her students to the point they were nothing but piles of blubbering flesh on the ground. “Lighten up, would you,” Sasha chortled, smacking Michel on the shoulder. “What shift you guys got next?” “The night shift.” “Rough. Our group was just switched over to the night shift a couple minutes ago. Seems the boss is expecting something to go down.” “Like what?” “We’ll find out.”
The day went by as Carlos, Egan and Michel enjoyed their break and a short nap. The sun had disappeared into the ocean and the three Blue Guards were standing just outside the north part of town, overlooking the farmers’ fields in the distance. Torches were lit along the gate they guarded, and in the tall outpost that stood next to the gate where Carlos was. Egan leaned against one of the gate’s posts and let out a loud yawn. “Stupid night shift,” Egan huffed. “Nothing ever happens during the night.” “Sasha’s expecting something,” Michel pointed out. “Yeah, but her idea of excitement involves broken bones and spirits,” Egan countered, looking up at Carlos in the outpost. “Anything?” “What do you think?” Carlos snapped back. “Edgy,” Egan muttered. “How’s the shoulder?” Michel asked, seeing bandages along Egan’s shoulder. “Sore, but nothing that can’t heal on its own,” Egan said, stretching his arm. “So how was Lucy?” “She seemed good,” Michel said. “Didn’t get a chance to talk to her because of Sasha.” Egan huffed and looked out over the field. “Why don’t you ever go in there and talk to her yourself?” Michel asked, curiosity taking over. “I don’t want to run into Sasha, like you did,” Egan explained. “Guys!” Carlos shouted from above. “What!?” Egan shouted back irately. “There’s something in the field!” Carlos shouted. Both Michel and Egan turned to see what Carlos saw. There was only darkness. “I think it might be corn,” Egan shouted back, mockingly. “No!” Carlos snapped. “There’s a flashing light going off at irregular intervals. Meaning someone out there is signaling someone else.” “Could it be more refugees from Loriberg?” Michel asked, drawing his rapier and pistol. “Who knows,” Egan said, drawing his sword as well. “At least the night shift is starting to look up.” “Heads up, there’s something in the fields coming your way!” Carlos shouted. Egan and Michel starred at the tall corn stems in front of them and could hear rustling coming from somewhere in the field. They took a few steps back and waited. Suddenly the corn parted and two dark figures flashed toward the two Blue Guards. | |
| | | EliAngler
Posts : 6 Join date : 2014-05-02 Age : 31 Location : Nova Scotia
| Subject: Re: The Blue Guard ~ Orly - Iris Island Thu Jun 26, 2014 12:10 pm | |
| Physeter has finally agreed to take me to the city of Orly. I’m looking forward to experiencing a real surface-city! My eyes still aren’t completely used to all this light, however, and I’m glad that my sense of smell and hearing are so keen. It makes navigating on land much easier.
I wonder if the people will be as nice as the people on that small isle we just left. Physeter seems uneasy with this venture into Orly. Truth be told, despite my excitement I am also quite nervous. We don’t exactly…blend in with most surface-dwellers…
Physeter described Orly to me as we travelled. He said it has the most beautiful flowers everywhere. But the most striking feature of the city is the centre garden. He tells me that the flowers arranged around a large monument in its centre are one of the most breathtakingly colourful views he’s seen in the surface world. He explained that they grow flowers there to offer their gods a sweet scent, in an attempt to appease their wrath and gain their favour. It always amazes me how much Physeter knows about the surface-lands. I, of course, don’t realize that what he knows is seen through his experiences, is not without bias, and is likely to be incorrect from time to time.
“Alright Koiya, we’re here. Orly.” Physeter spoke softly to me as we surfaced about a kilometre away from the shoreline. Boats bobbed up and down with the waves, their hulls silhouetted against the morning sun. We were looking at the harbour. I could see the shapes of buildings, and people milling about along the docks. My stomach churned. Physeter looked at me, a small, focused frown on his face. “Stay here. I’m going to see how much things have changed.”
I looked at him questioningly but knew he wasn’t going to say anything further so I contented myself with watching him go. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Physeter approached the docks, uncertain of the reactions he would gain once he was upon them. He remembered the residents of Orly being relatively friendly in the past, but that was almost a decade ago now. Things change. People change. He always felt self-conscious when he went to surface-cities, with good reason. That sort of precaution had saved his skin from slavers and other trouble countless of times.
He pulled himself up onto a dock, and was almost immediately greeted by two men in blue uniforms. Their hands were on their weapons as they eyed him suspiciously. He raised his hands towards his sides, palms up. “Morning, gentleman. I--”
“What’s yer business here, fishman?” The shorter, stockier fellow on the left cut him off gruffly.
“I’m just here to visit. I’m not planning on staying longer than a day.” He explained calmly.
The taller man furrowed his brows and wrinkled his face up in what looked like a snarl, “Well consider this yer visit. Go back to whatever pond yeh came from. We don’t want visitors like you here.”
Physeter frowned. This was the kind of reaction he was hoping to avoid, but he was grateful he had spared Koiya from it. She didn’t need to meet these kinds of people. Still, he knew how much she was looking forward to seeing the city and decided to press on. “Please, my niece is waiting for me. She was really looking forward to seeing the centre garden. We won’t stay longer than a few hours.”
“The centre garden?! You’re not bringing your fish-stank anywhere near the centre garden!” The short one growled.
Before Physeter could respond, the tall one added, “That’s right. But if you’re so determined to see the city, we’ll gladly escort you to the barracks.” He finished with a defiant grin.
Physeter sighed and knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with these two. What had changed in the city, he wondered, to make them so unfriendly? He simply shook his head, “That won’t be necessary. I’ll take my leave now.”
As he turned to dive back into the water, he heard the two guards muttering under their breath something about fishmen, bandits, and spies. He chose not to listen any further and plunged beneath the waves. | |
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Posts : 26 Join date : 2014-04-28 Age : 33
| Subject: Re: The Blue Guard ~ Orly - Iris Island Thu Jun 26, 2014 7:12 pm | |
| Michel thought it was going to be a quiet night, but clearly someone had a better idea of storming the gates and force your way into Orly. Even though this wasn’t unordinary, it still surprised Michel and Egan. One of the dark figures that came rushing from the corn field jumped at Egan and slashed at him with a crude looking long sword. Egan blocked the attack with ease, but in the figure’s other hand held a smaller parrying sword that came lunging at Egan. Reacting quickly, Egan jumped back, barely missing the tip of the parrying sword. The figure that attacked Egan was a tall and well-built man who clearly seen action before. He had a disfiguring scar coming from the bridge of his nose to the corner of his mouth. The scarred man also had jet-black hair that stuck to his skin from the grease. The second figure that came from the field threw something toward Michel that flashed white in the torchlight. Michel held up his rapier and braced it by placing his pistol behind it. A parrying sword came whirling toward Michel that smashed into his rapier and fell to the ground harmlessly. Then the figure jumped out from the darkness and swung a two-handed axe toward Michel who parried it easily and kicked the man’s feet from under him, causing him to stumble to the ground. The second attacker was a bigger man, both in size and shape. He had rugged clothes and his brown hair also stuck to his skin. “Who are these guys?” Michel said, starring at the bigger man. “Who cares,” Egan replied spinning his sword in his hand. “They attacked first, that means it’s all or nothing.” The scarred man advanced onto Egan and slashed his long sword vertically at him. Egan parried it off expertly and was able to deflect the parrying sword that was coming for another thrust. Egan noticed how little effort it took to deflect, block and parry the man’s attacks. So he began toying with the scarred man. He took out his own parrying sword that was sheathed underneath his cloak and began parrying and blocking all of his moves, as if it were a training session. He loved how fluid his movements were and how inexperience his opponents were. Adrenaline was pulsing through Egan’s body as he made a fury of strikes at the scarred man’s swords, chipping into the cheap iron. Eventually, Egan’s constant attacks were too much for the iron of the scarred man’s parrying sword. When Egan came in for a slash, the scarred man blocked it but his parrying sword snapped, allowing Egan to cut the man’s stomach as his sword went through the iron. The man stepped back, and held his hand to his gut, wincing in pain. The blood seemed to glimmer from the torchlight as it streamed down the man’s body and onto the dirt ground. Egan whipped his blade toward the ground, shacking off the man’s blood from his sword. The scarred man grunted as he finally stood up again, wincing at the pain from his gut. Egan was slightly impressed but knew this had to end before more of these guys arrived. He sheathed his parrying sword, and held his long sword above his head as he starred at his opponent’s heart. “Dynamic…” Egan shouted as he lunged forward, taking the scarred man off guard. He thrust his sword toward the man’s heart and when it made contact, he dashed past the man, scrapping his sword along the man’s chest and arm. His sword cut so deep along the scarred man’s arm that bone was visible from the cut. “…Viper!” The man spat out blood and fell to the ground with a thud. Egan smirked as he looked over his accomplishment. The big man with the axe advanced on Michel after picking himself off the ground. He swung his axe at Michel, but the rapier was too quick for the big man that it easily parried his assault. Michel smashed the man over the head with the butt of his pistol as he stepped around the big man. The axe flashed again, and this time Michel had little room the parry off the attack, so he countered with a slash of his own. Right as his rapier made contact with the axe, the swing stopped, but his rapier cut deep into the iron of the axe. When the big man yanked back his axe, Michel’s rapier came along with it, disarming Michel of his sword. The big man let out a chortle as he pried the rapier from his axe and threw it toward the cornfield. He stepped forward and slashed his axe at Michel, but the blue guard was able to take out his parrying sword and parry the axe, and as the big man recovered from the parry, Michel sidestepped and shot the man in arm with his pistol. The big man let out a yelp as the bullet passed through his right arm. He quickly turned, dropped his axe, and smashed Michel in the side of the face with the back of his fist. Michel hit the ground hard as blood came sliding from his nose. His hat had flown off, as he picked himself up. Michel never expected someone to use their hands like that before. In his training, they only used swords and pistols, nothing else. But clearly in the real world, fists were as effective as any other weapon if used correctly. Michel felt his jaw, and winced at the pain. The big man had strength, and he knew that if he got smacked again something would definitely break. The big man yelled in frustration as he threw his axe at Michel. The Blue Guard saw it coming, and readied his parrying sword to deflect it. He slashed at the incoming axe and was able to parry it off, sending the axe to the ground. But what he didn’t see coming was the big man rushing at him. Michel had little time to react before a low-punch came toward him, smashing into his gut. Michel let out a silent yell as pain shot up through his body. Then another punch came round and smashed Michel in the face again, sending him into the dirt. The punch was so hard this time that Michel swore he heard something crack. Without delay, Michel picked himself up and aimed his pistol at the big man, knowing that he couldn’t outmaneuver such a large man. But shooting a man in a close-combat fight would be dishonourable, so instead he charged at the big man. He sidestepped and spun around the large man, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with his moves. When he was beside the big man, he stabbed him in the back with his parrying knife and smacked him in the back of the head with his pistol. As the man went down, Michel bolted toward his rapier. He grabbed it in time and holstered his pistol. As he turned to face the big man, the first parrying sword that the man threw came hurtling toward him. Michel ducked under it, and dashed toward the big man with rapier in hand. The big man threw a punch at Michel, but instead of connecting with the Blue Guard’s face, a parrying sword came up and stabbed the man’s fist. As the big man yelled in pain, Michel quickly thrust his rapier forward and stabbed the man in the chest. The big man froze as blood trickled down his chest. Michel retracted his rapier, and the big man fell forward with a thud. “You could do better,” Egan said, watching the end of Michel’s fight. “Got me by surprise,” Michel admitted, checking his jaw. “Still, they-“ “Guys!” Carlos shouted. “There’s another in the field.” “Then shot him,” Egan said. “You’re just as good as Michel. Okay. Maybe not, but still you’re good at shooting.” “A-alright,” Carlos hesitated as he shouldered his carbine and stared down the barrel. In the field he saw the figure that was flashing the light from earlier and noticed his movements were panicked. The figure began to turn and head away from Orly, but Carlos wasn’t going to let that happen. He aimed carefully, and squeezed the trigger. With a loud bang, the figure dropped to the ground. “Got’em!” Carlos shouted excitedly. “Good work,” Michel said. “But it was too easy,” Egan said. “Didn’t they remind you of anyone we fought previously?” “You mean the guys from the warehouse district?” Michel asked. “They did dress the same, and they fought like they’ve never had proper training before.” “Exactly,” Egan said. “I’m thinking it’s the same guys. They might have seen us take Adele away, so they decided to invade Orly out of desperation.” “You put that together quickly,” Carlos said from above. “Clearly they are working for the bandits in Loriberg in one way or another. They used Adele to smuggle in a few bandits in the hope that they would be able to storm from inside the town. But once Adele was gone, they had no choice but to attack the town from the outside.” “But to only send three guys,” Michel pointed out. Before anyone could answer, a gunshot sounded from the west part of town. “They didn’t,” Carlos said. “They split up to cover more area, and to attack from multiple points around the city.” “We better go help then,” Egan said, shouldering his sword. “No,” Michel said. “What?” Egan said, surprised at Michel’s protest. “We were ordered to guard the north gate,” Michel said. “Until we receive new orders, we have to stay here.” “He’s got a point,” Carlos said, glancing down at Egan. “Whatever,” Egan huffed as he sheathed his sword.
After a couple of hours of waiting and listening, a total of five gunshots sounded off throughout the town. Egan was getting edgy, slashing his sword through the dirt a few times wanting to do something about it all. “Guys, incoming from the rear,” Carlos sounded off. Michel and Egan stood up and turned toward the town seeing a Blue Guard heading toward them. When Egan saw who it was, he went back to leaning against the gatepost. “Instructor Sasha,” Michel said saluting his instructor. “Gentlemen,” Sasha said, quickly glancing at the three Blue Guards. “Everything seems under control here.” “We encountered three hostiles,” Carlos explained from above. “All three are confirmed dead.” Sasha looked at the two bodies that she could see. But glared over at the scarred man’s body for a while. “Finally figured out the Dynamite Viper, eh Egan?” “Dynamic,” Egan corrected. “And yeah, it seemed to work fine.” “I’m quite impressed, but the cut along the chest is too shallow,” Sasha pointed out. “If he was wearing armour, your sword would only be making sparks.” “Don’t you have reports to write?” Egan snapped. “Ignore him,” Carlos said. “What’s going on? Are we under attack?” Michel asked. “No,” Sasha answered. “Or we were, but nothing we can’t handle. The boss knew that the bandits in the warehouse district might make a move after apprehending Adele, so he ordered several Blue Guard cells to guard the town tonight. Clearly he was right.” “So all the groups were successful in holding back the assault?” Carlos asked. “Yep,” Sasha said smiling. “They didn’t stand a chance. Now keep watch until your shift ends. Never know when more might come. Orly!” Sasha pounded her fist over her heart. “Orly!” The others responded by doing the same, as Sasha walked off back into town.
The rest of the night was uneventful. Michel, Egan and Carlos checked in at the barracks and were told that a total of 24 bandits tried to assault the town; all were killed. Only one Blue Guard was injured, and Michel’s jaw was only bruised so it wasn’t counted as a injuring. The three Blue Guards headed home in the early morning to get some rest before their next shift. | |
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